WASHINGTON — Orbex, a United Kingdom-based company working on a small launch vehicle, has obtained $20.8 million to increase efforts on its long-delayed rocket.
Orbex revealed on April 18 that it gathered 16.7 million pounds ($20.8 million) as an extension to a Series C round in 2022 that raised 40 million pounds. The bulk of the new funds, 10.5 million pounds, came from its existing investor Scottish National Investment Bank, with contributions from venture capital firms Octopus Ventures, BGF and Heartcore, as well as the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, among others.
Orbex is developing Prime, a small launch vehicle capable of delivering up to 180 kilograms into low Earth orbit, launching from Sutherland Spaceport in northern Scotland. Prime has not yet been launched and its development has faced significant delays. The company mentioned in 2019 a first launch was planned for late 2021, which by late 2020 had slipped to 2022 and, in 2022, to some time in 2023.
In its announcement of the new funding, Orbex did not provide a projected date for the first flight of Prime. A company spokesperson told SpaceNews on April 19 that the company had not set a date yet.
One factor affecting the launch timing is the ongoing construction of Spaceport Sutherland, which Nicola Douglas, executive director of innovation at the Scottish National Investment Bank, indicated would be completed this year. “This follow-on investment comes at an exciting time as Orbex expands its manufacturing and looks to complete its Sutherland Spaceport this year,” she said in a statement.
Orbex has also experienced changes in its leadership. The company’s founding chief executive, Chris Larmour, resigned a year ago, stating that Orbex required new leadership to take it “to the next level.” He was temporarily replaced by Kristian Von Bengtson, the company’s chief development officer, until Orbex hired Martin Coates, a technology industry executive and former member of its board, in late May.
In January, Orbex announced the hiring of Phillip Chambers, a “scale-up expert” who had invested in the Series C round, as its new chief executive. The company also brought on Miguel Belló Mora, a former director general of Spain’s space agency, as its executive chair.
“Our technology is pivotal in making the U.K. a hub for European orbital launch, and we are entering a critical phase of development,” Chambers said in a statement about the new funding. “This additional funding will support our goal to push on into an operational launch phase, and scale our business when the time comes.”
The company did not specify when it thought the time would come to scale its business, but noted that the company is now turning its attention to a Series D round that “will aim to secure its long-term prospects as the leading orbital launch business in Europe.”
